


Would this have happened anyway?

by Florence68



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-02
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 00:04:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10524726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florence68/pseuds/Florence68
Summary: The war ended when Katniss and Peeta were 16 years old. A couple of years have passed since the rebellion. Life in District 12 has changed quite a lot. Without the threat of hunger, the Reaping or death, Katniss and Peeta have become friends. Is there hope for something more?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for The Everlark Fic Exchange on Tumblr. Springtime Edition 2017.
> 
> Prompt 66: Would love to read a canon divergent fic that explores what Peeta says about “a lot of guys liking Katniss”. This could cover a lot of tropes: no games, arranged marriage, friends to lovers, or this would have happened anyway. Would love to see Katniss more open to her feelings and the possibility of love. Would love to see how Peeta would win Katniss over with more than just Gale as competition. [submitted by Anonymous]

“She is ideal for my young’un”, one could hear Mrs. Cartwright’s calculating voice. “Katniss turned into a real beauty. Plus, their status improved since the pharmacy has been given back to them…”

After the morning rush, a few neighborhood women turn up at the bakery and exchange gossip with my mother on Sundays during the business lull. In the meantime I am in the kitchen and prepare bread for the afternoon crowd. Usually, I zone out and don’t listen to the malicious stories and the caustic comments of those joyless women with nothing better to do. But her name captured my attention at once…

“Are you sure? For me, she will always be ‘Seam trash’”, my mother cut her off impatiently.

„Times have changed“, the butcher’s wife declared. „I myself wouldn’t mind either if she became my daughter in law. My son Jonas has had an eye on her as well. A huntress would be the perfect butcher’s wife“, she added, laughing.

 „My Daren is already a step ahead. He just ran over to the bakery to ask her out to prom“, Mrs. Cartwright threw in happily.

I started to pound the dough. My fingers are convulsing. No, it can’t be real. This is not happening. Not now… I am in love with her. For years I have been so. It is the worst-kept secret in the District. She is the only one who doesn’t have a clue about it.

 

When I think of my actual and as a matter of fact imagined history with Katniss, I divide it into three periods. The first one is the earliest period of childhood, when I was observing her in kindergarten, and then at school and in town, while she was strolling around in the company of her beloved father and her sister, with no worries on her mind. This Katniss exuded energy and radiated joy. For me, surrounded by an aggressive mother, a disinterested and coarse older brothers and an absent father, her family was the epiphany of all I’ve ever dreamed of, and Katniss the personification of happiness and safety. It was of some comfort to know that something like that existed. It yielded hope that it was indeed possible to reach these heights – with Katniss, of course. Even if she didn’t know that I existed, for me that phase of our relationship, in fact a one sided and imaginary one, was a beacon of hope that let me survive in the unhealthy environment of my own family.

It all changed after the sudden death of Katniss’ father in the coal-mine explosion. Once merry, his well cared for and sheltered daughter was devastated and left to her own devices. Her mother’s depression left her unprotected and forced her to take care of her younger sister at a time when she was a child herself. I observed how she slowly faded, hungry, weak and concerned – the peak of her helplessness being when she literally gave herself up and, under an apple tree, in the rain, waited to die. The fear of her not making it through the night made me take action. I, who (like father like son) have always avoided conflict, tried to not stir trouble and avoided to tempt my mother’s wrath, let the bread burn that evening on purpose and instead of feeding them to the pigs, as my irascible mother had directed me to, I threw the buns to Katniss. As was to be expected, my mother decided to cover my entire body in bruises; some even adorned my face and threatened to expose my parents’ questionable child-rearing methods to the public. Nevertheless, deep inside, I was hoping that Katniss would at least greet me next day at school; it didn’t surprise me when she ignored me. Still, I did manage to catch her glance, which flew right across me and focused on the dandelion which erupted from the holes in the asphalt at my feet…

 

In the following couple of years, I continued watching her from afar. Every once in a while, I caught her glance and built impossible and pointless plans regarding our future together. Katniss lost the appearance of a weakened, persecuted animal. Her movements became steady and quick and her glance clear and confident. The only thing missing was her old smile and a certain lightness of being. Soon it became clear that Katniss had started hunting in the forbidden woods outside of the district borders. She then sold the game or traded it for goods. My father was a regular customer, to the great dismay of my mother, who did not forget that my father’s first and probably only love had been Mrs. Everdeen.

At that time my mind was greatly preoccupied with Gale, officially her hunting partner, and unofficially – if you believed the rumors – her boyfriend. Their behavior in public did not confirm these insinuations. On the contrary, Gale, who was every girl’s dream, whether from the Seam or the merchant section, tall, good looking, with olive skin, the movements of a panther (Delly’s words, not mine) and a facial expression that induced great respect, was a regular visitor of the so called ‘Slag Heap’, a place where class differences vanished and young men and women were looking for some pleasure and oblivion. If one is to believe my oldest brother, Asher, who was not able to mask his unhappiness and jealousy of Gale – for he was his main rival – he never showed up with the same girl twice. That encouraged numerous idiots to say ever more openly how Katniss is ‘attractive’, ‘hot’ and the ‘main heroine’ of their ‘wet dreams’. In those moments I was only capable of self-control because of the many years of practice in hiding my feelings from my mother. What I actually wanted was to grab these fools’ throats and hold them tight until they’ve forgotten that Katniss existed. Luckily, these comments, even the glances, were nipped in the bud by no one other than Gale. Patrick, a real swine and a member of my wrestling team stopped Katniss after school one day and suggested “to make her acquainted with his friend Dick at the Slag Heap”. He ended up being a boxing bag for the furiously agitated Gale, who happened to be nearby and heard it. No one dared to intervene, except for Katniss, who pulled Gale by the sleeve and commented lethargically: “You were supposed to let _me_ finish off my prey, remember?” That made him stop for a moment; suddenly, the two of them laughed hard and set out for the Seam.

The image of the ferocious Gale was carved deep in the minds of the people that had been there and an embroidered story of the incident remained to serve as a warning to all potential suitors. That occurrence left me feeling conflicted. I was delighted that Gale’s action sent a loud enough message to all the young men in the District about how Katniss was out of limits. On the other hand, it was clear that she was very special to him and that she meant to him more than people generally assumed. Gale’s rating among girls rose even more, if that was even possible, which became my brother’s sore spot and allowed me to tease him about it for months. A general conclusion that Gale was having fun on the side, waiting for Katniss to grow up some more and be ready for a serious relationship, was formed and wiped the smile off my face immediately.

 

Right after my sixteenth birthday, strange things began to happen. On the streets, unfamiliar faces started to show up, and head peacekeeper Cray died all of a sudden, allegedly from a heart attack. No one cared to inform the Capitol about it and Darius took his place. It was an unusual choice, if you take into account that he is my oldest brother’s peer. Haymitch appeared in town, sober and on the alert. The deliveries of the ingredients for the bakery were late at first and then stopped coming altogether. Unexpectedly, my father turned out to be quite untouched by that. The customers didn’t complain about it too much either.

During the course of April, Darius announced that, for the first time ever, a spring festival would be organized one week prior to the Reaping ceremony. The preparation was an occasion for numerous meetings of the more prominent representatives of the Merchant circle at the office of Mayor Undersee. In passing, I would sometimes see Haymitch in a seemingly casual conversation with Gale, Thom and some other young miners. A few times, he even stopped to speak with Katniss. For someone who has spent years of his life drunk and isolated in the Victor’s Village, Haymitch was unusually sober and present-minded. All of these suspicious signs that pointed toward something big happening could not hold my attention. Just like every year, when Reaping Day drew closer, I fell into a state of inexpressible fear. I worried about myself, my brother Marek, whose last Reaping this was, my friends, but my greatest fear and paralyzing thought was always: “What if they draw Katniss, just not her, no, everyone but her.” And this year, it was her sister Primrose’s first Reaping. For Katniss it was clear as day that she didn’t have any reason to worry about Prim. If necessary, she was ready to take her place. For me it meant that my fear that year should double. Fortunately, it proved to be unnecessary.

The last day of April began at dawn, when in the entire District, warning sirens resounded. My father ordered us in an imperious tone to put on our clothes quickly and leave at once. Unexpectedly he overrode my mother’s complaints and declared with an authoritative voice: “Let’s move!” Without a word, all of us followed him in the general direction of the woods. On the way, we met neighbors who quickly and silently walked into the same direction. At the end of the road from which a small path led through the grove towards the electric fence, Katniss was standing, armed with a bow and arrows.

She took over our group and led us through the woods to a camp that was a two hour walk away from the District. There, we found out that the revolution has begun, that Snow has been killed, that District 13 hadn’t been destroyed like we all had assumed but that its inhabitants had hidden and had lived under the radar. They, armored and trained for battle, had been the key factor in the revolution. Haymitch was the leader of the Rebellion in our District; the entire Seam and the more prominent representatives of the merchant families have been included in the resistance movement. The citizens had been brought to the forest, just until we could see how all of it would play out. The spring festival had only been a cover to organize shelter, a way to store food supplies and other necessities. In this temporary camp, we have stayed for about ten days. After the assassination of the president, the revolutionaries occupied the Capitol, which, unprepared for attack, surrendered. Battles were taking place in the Districts 2, 3 and 4 for a few weeks, however Snow’s sympathizers were soon overcome. This has been a two-week long blitzkrieg. Our district didn’t suffer much damage. There were a few casualties, but mostly these were older people who refused to take shelter and then fell prey to the residual peacekeepers who remained loyal to Snow. Soon we returned to our homes and carried on with a more or less normal life. The only graspable, enormous change that brought relief upon everyone was the fact that the Hunger Games have been discontinued…

On that last day of camp, while I was watching Katniss, who organized the camp’s closure with Darius, Haymitch and Gale and made a plans for our return home, it became painfully evident to me how different the two of us were from each other. I, pathetic, a coward, a wimp, and she a brave, dignified warrior. Suddenly, I despaired at the crystal clear thought that never, not in any universe, she would be able to, not even in passing, focus her glance on me, not to mention be interested in me. From the female camp one could hear snorting and mumbling. Our schoolmates, who were altogether burning with jealousy of Katniss because of her looks and posture, and, above all, the inviolable position she held in Gale’s life, were particularly loud. The male camp was quite a different story. They regarded her with an admiration that did not diminish their wish to physically possess her, but was enriched with an entirely new desire to rule over her. I had the feeling that I would become sick while reading their expressions.

In order to collect my thoughts and calm down, I left the group somewhat and, leaning on a tree that shielded me from the others’ view, breathed in the fresh morning air with closed eyes. A sudden, gentle touch of a hand made me flinch. Next to me was Katniss, she asked me softly: “Peeta, are you alright?” Oh my God, not only did she address me directly and on her own accord, probably for the first time in her life, but she also called me by my name.

And at that moment, the third phase of my relationship with Katniss Everdeen began, the one in which she really acknowledged my existence, talked to me from time to time and carried herself toward me in a friendly manner…

 

The events in the District and entire Panem have changed the life of the Everdeen family very much. Mrs. Everdeen’s father had died from a heart attack in the revolution. The District’s administration had then relocated her mother to a small one-story house and set a monthly pension for her, while the house and pharmacy she had been in were inherited by Mrs. Everdeen. Everybody was talking about how that must have been Haymitch’s doing, because the pharmacist never would have let his business be taken over by his outcast daughter. When, one morning, I left the bakery to see what the hustle in the adjacent house and garden was all about, I saw Prim, who told me that she would work at the pharmacy and that they were moving into the house. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity and offered her my help at once. She and I were very similar, and not only in the physical sense, considering that Prim had inherited her mother’s merchant looks. We were both talkative, candid and merry. We soon became friends, and when Katniss saw for herself that Prim was safe with me, she began embracing our new ideas and projects with a tiny smile and a twinkle in her eyes and even took part in them – from our medicinal-edible garden, which we prepared in the backyard, to painting the walls of Prim’s room. The neighborly connections turned swiftly into a friendship. We often walked to and from school together. When the gardening work or some other little thing I was helping Prim with took longer than expected, Mrs. Everdeen would ask me to stay for dinner. With time, Katniss fully let herself go in my presence and took part in the conversations, even initiated get-togethers…

I believed I was close to my goal. As if it hadn’t been enough that Gale was always nearby, even though Prim claimed that they were just friends, half of the male population at school decided that this was the best moment to take action and conquer Katniss. Well, this time, I wouldn’t let my cowardliness win. I took off the apron and set out. I resolutely opened the kitchen door that leads to the backyard and was flabbergasted when, in front of me, I made out Katniss.

“Hi! Um… I wanted to… Right now, there’s… I am…”

“Oh, hi. I just wanted to swing by. Prim said…”

“Yes, um… Okay then… I don’t want to hold you up…”

“Katniss, wait! I thought… I wanted to ask you…” Yes, I am that idiot who’s considered to be very eloquent. Luckily, she cut me off mumbling: “Do you want to go to senior prom with me?”

Some moments later, utterly confused, I’m taking the muffins out of the oven and freeze in the middle of a routine movement. Did I answer her? Did I accept the invite? Yes, sure, I did. Katniss and I are going to the prom. And she invited me! That has to mean something. Maybe she’s interested a little. Maybe she likes me a little after all. Or a lot? What if she asked me just to fend off all the idiots that are after her? Before I managed to destroy the next batch of muffins, Marek came into the kitchen whistling joyfully.

“What happened?”, he asked, worried, when he saw my red face.

“Nothing. Katniss has asked me to prom”.

“Isn’t that good news?”

“Hm. I’m wondering why she asked me?”

“Wow, everyone knows that _she_ ’s completely oblivious, but you too? What do you think why she is rejecting all the admirers, or why she is never going out with anyone? I thought it was clear to you that the ice queen of District 12 tends to turn into a puddle when you’re around”, Marek said jokingly. “Prim, Madge, Delly and I were taking bets on when the two of you would move from your dead spot. See to it that I win – I put my money on prom”. He slapped me on the shoulder and, with a smile, took off adding: “And I want to know all the details”.

For thirteen years, my eyes had followed her, I dreamed of her, rotated various scenarios in which she would notice me in my head and lived in a happy one-sided love story. And then one evening has changed everything. Senior prom turned into a perfect first date that I never would have even been able to imagine. It was real. At the risk of sounding girly (What else is new?), I will say that this was the beginning of my happily ever after. And no one will hear the details. Marek will have to settle for only winning his bet.

 

**Author's Note:**

> A work in progress (multichapter).


End file.
